Hey Baby
by rocky
Summary: Fred learns what happens when a person drinks too much Firewhiskey and jokes around with a girl... **CHAPTER 4 POSTED 5/30**
1. The Affects of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey

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A/N: New story! How exciting ;) Pretty different from most other things I've done…we'll see how it goes. 

Chapter 8 for "Journey to Reality" is on the way!

Thanks to Rose Rovente for beta-reading this for me.

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Disclaimer: The Weasley clan, Harry, Hermione, all those other wonderful people, and Ogden's Old Firewhisky belong to JK Rowling, not me. Although Cecily is mine ;) 

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Hey Baby

Chapter 1:

The Affects of Ogden's Old Firewhisky

***

"Watch it—"

"Bloody hell, George, I know what I'm doing, after all these years, and I would appreciate it if—"

"Duck!"

A loud explosion accompanied by purple smoke erupted in the small room. Two identical faces emerged from under the table, both covered in blue tinged soot.

"Wicked," muttered George.

Fred laughed, standing up and grabbing the rag sitting on the table. "See, I told you I knew what I was doing!" he exclaimed, while at the same time unsuccessfully trying to rub the soot off his face with the soot-covered rag.

George's eyes sparkled. "Oh really? Is that why your eyes filled with horror as the beaker began bubbling over?"

Fred snorted, tossing the dirty rag over to his brother. "Oh, shove it."

George chuckled, eyeing the rag. "You know, we're going to have to get a bit more cleaned up than this." Glancing down at his watch, he added, "We should leave in about a half hour."

"Huh?" said Fred distractedly, trying to clean up the sticky goo covering their work table. "Where are we going?"

"You forgot, didn't you?" said George, an amused smile on his face.

"It looks that way." Fred gave up cleaning the mess on the table and covered it with a large tablecloth. "What am I forgetting?"

"Today's the 30th, Fred. The party?"

Realization slowly dawned on Fred's freckled face. "That's _today_?" 

George smiled. "Yeah. Listen, I should go jump in the shower…could you put these canary creams in the display window?"

Fred muttered "Sure" as George hurried up the stairs. Picking up the canary creams, Fred ran a hand through his tousled hair. How could he have forgotten? The party was tonight. It always was tonight. "Stupid git," he muttered to himself.

Every year Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hosted a large End-of-Summer party at the Three Broomsticks. Every year. Ever since Bill had started attending Hogwarts. Fred could remember going to them as a young child. He and George always tried to cause as much mischief as possible. One year, they had been about five at the time, they succeeded in pouring a jug of gillywater into the punch bowl. Mrs. Weasley hadn't been too happy about that. Neither had the people drinking the punch. 

The party had been fun once upon a time. All of the Weasleys' friends would be there, having a great time. Adults would get drunk, children would get to stay up past bedtimes. A grand time was had by all.

Of course, things had changed over time. Not that it wasn't exactly _fun_ anymore. But to Fred, it also served as a painful reminder of all that had been lost. Cedric Diggory used to come to the party. And Dennis Creevey. And Lee Jordan. All friends. All gone.

Voldemort—Fred still had trouble even _thinking _the name—he had been defeated a year ago. At the end of Ron's seventh year. Fred still had nightmares about it. The whole Order of Phoenix had played a huge role in his downfall. Every single member had contributed something. Harry, of course, was instrumental in his defeat. But it had been Dumbledore who had ultimately done it. On the day of Ron's graduation. 

Dumbledore had lifted the Apparating restrictions on the Hogwarts grounds just for the day, so out of town family could easily attend the graduation. Halfway through the ceremony, Voldemort, along with twenty of his trusted Death Eaters, entered the grounds. The fight that followed had been dreadful. The whole air had been filled with curses, explosions, cries of pain. Then suddenly there had been one heart-wrenching cry, and complete silence. It was if time were standing still. Not a noise could be heard. As smoke cleared, Fred had seen Voldemort's and Dumbledore's bodies, lying next to each other on the ground. Both dead. Voldemort had a look of hatred on his face; Dumbledore, a look of grim triumph.

As soon as they saw their leader's body crumpled on the ground, the Death Eaters had quickly Disapparated. Some were eventually captured. Some were not. 

The death toll had been surprisingly low. Many assumed Voldemort had simply been trying to get at Harry. The deaths that had taken place still hurt, though. Fred could never forget looking down at Lee's surprised, vacant face. 

Had that really been a year ago? It seemed like yesterday. How time had flown since their graduation. Besides joining in the fight against Voldemort, Fred and George had opened their own joke shop in Hogsmeade. Of course, before the Dark Lord's downfall they hadn't had much time to work on it. But now, it was blossoming into the store they had always dreamed of. They weren't making much money yet, but profits were slowly but surely increasing.

It was the perfect place for the store. The shop downstairs, with a back room for inventing and testing new products. The upstairs consisted of one small bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Yes, it was small, but what did two bachelors care? It worked for them. 

And now, Ginny had graduated from Hogwarts, too. The whole Weasley clan had been through their own seven years at the school. Quite amazing, actually. And Mrs. Weasley still insisted on throwing that stupid, meaningless party. Every year she _insisted_ the whole family be there. Prior commitments? Cancel them. Something came up? Too bad. Dragons rampaging the countryside in Romania? Well, something had better be done about it _before_ August 30th. Fred shuddered to think what Mrs. Weasley would do if one of her children failed to show at the party…

Fred's musings were abruptly stopped as he turned into a large, yellow bird. After molting several feathers and a large squawk, he transformed back into his normal, red-haired self. 

Fred looked down at the box of Canary Creams he had been filling the display with. "I've gotta pay more attention when I'm doing this." 

*

"Oh moi Gawd, that can't be lil' Fred'rick Weasley, _can_ it? Oh, look at 'im! Oi just wan' to bundle you up and take you _home_!"

Fred hoped that the terror didn't show in his eyes. Bravely, he plastered a small smile on his face. "Um, thanks, Mrs. Patil. No need for that though."

While Mrs. Patil was doubled over with mirth ("Oh my Gawd, he is jus' _too_ funny!"), Fred beat a hasty retreat. He quickly found his twin sitting at the bar of the Three Broomsticks. "George," he said, an extremely solemn look on his face, "I am beginning to fear for my life here."

George laughed heartily. "Me, too, Forge. Some of Mom's friends get a little, uh…_overly_ friendly at these parties." Fred was about to reply when he felt someone gently touch his back. Turning, he found a tired looking woman standing behind him. "Oh! Mrs. Jordan!"

Mrs. Jordan smiled at the two boys. Her smile seemed oddly strained. "Hello, boys," she said quietly. "Just thought I'd stop by and say hello." Her smile waned a little. "Lee always used to love these parties, you know."

George nodded, a wry grin on his face. "Yeah, I remember. He was the life of these parties, Mrs. J. Always was." 

"Yeah," added Fred quietly. "Yeah…we do miss him."

Mrs. Jordan clasped both twins' hands. "I know, boys." Wiping briefly at her eyes, she said hoarsely, "Well, I should be going. Say hello to your mother for me, won't you?" The twins nodded as Mrs. Jordan wound her way back through the crowds. 

George sighed heavily. "Damn it. I need a drink."

Fred nodded. "I'll second that."

"And I'll third it!" George turned and smiled, all sadness erased from his face. "Charlie! Join us for a Firewhisky?"

Charlie smiled, the same smile as the rest of his family. "How can I resist Ol' Ogden's?"

It didn't take long for Bill to also join the three brothers in a high-spirited drinking game. There didn't seem to be any particular rules. It was just fun to see who could guzzle down the most Firewhisky. 

After several shots each, Ron and Harry came wandering over. "Ron!" shouted Bill, accidentally spraying Firewhisky over the table. "Join us, both of you!"

Harry glanced at Ron and shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Why not?"

Ron glanced suspiciously around the room. "Don't see Hermione, do you?" he asked quietly.

Fred stifled a laugh and Charlie asked where Ron's leash was. Harry assured him that Hermione was nowhere in sight. "Good, then let's." 

Harry and Ron sat down at the quickly crowding table, reaching for the open bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. Fred was just about to pour himself another shot when he heard a faint clunking sound behind him. Turning his head slightly, he smiled. "Join us, Perce?"

Percy gave a scowl. "Of course not! I have to go to work tomorrow, you know that. And the Ministry—"

"Yes, Percy, we all realize how important you are to the Ministry," said an exasperated Ron. "Not joining us, then?"

Percy gave an impatient snort and walked awkwardly away. Harry watched his retreating back. "Is that wooden leg the best they could do for him?" he asked quietly.

Bill shook his head. "'Fraid so. For now, at least. Those Death Eaters mangled up his leg pretty bad with some of those curses. St. Mungo's tried to save it, but…" he shrugged. "Poor Perce," he added softly.

"Yeah," agreed Fred quietly. "But he was luckier than some." A silence settled over the table, each person consumed in his own thoughts.

"Well, isn't this the lively bunch?"

Charlie's head jerked up and a broad smile quickly grew on his face. "Ginny, my darling baby sister! How are you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes but failed to hide the smile on her face. "Hey, Charlie." 

George poured himself some more whiskey. "So, tell us Ginny, how's it feel to be completely done with your schooling?"

Ginny shrugged. "Honestly? It's kind of weird. I'm not quite sure what I should do now."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Well, you've applied for some jobs, right?"

Ginny waved a hand impatiently through the air. "Of course, but—oh, Cecily! Let me introduce you. These are my brothers…" she went around the table, listing names. "And Harry," she added, blushing slightly when Harry smiled at her. "Guys," she continued, "this is Cecily Midgen. You remember her, don't you?"

Fred looked at the girl standing next to his little sister. There was nothing remarkable about her. Wavy coppery hair, fair skinned, average height. No, nothing special. Although he had to admit, he had never seen eyes quite so dark a blue.

"Sure!" exclaimed George, rudely butting into his thoughts. "Ravenclaw, right? Same year as us?" He elbowed Fred roughly.

The girl smiled. "Yeah. Think we had Potions together one year." George made a face and Cecily laughed. 

"Wait a minute," said Ron, comprehension dawning on his face. "Cecily _Midgen_? As in Eloise Midgen?"

"Yes," said Cecily, raising an eyebrow. "You know my sister?"

"Well _yeah_ I know her, she—ow!" Ron eyed Harry ruefully. "Uh—she was in the same year as us." Harry gave him an approving look. 

"Well Gin, Cecily, join us in our game, won't you?" Charlie smiled charmingly at the two girls. They laughed and exchanged a look. 

"Sure," said Ginny. "We're game."

*

One hour and two bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhisky later, the world was looking decidedly wonderful to Fred. Everyone really was nice. And how could he have not noticed the beautiful colors of the Three Broomsticks before? Great party, great place, great Firewhisky. Great party in general. 

He peered at the girl sitting across the table from him. Who was this? Eloise? No, no, it was Cecily. Or was it Cecilia? Oh well, didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she was absolutely the most beautiful woman in the entire wizarding world. Hell, he'd go as far as saying in the entire wizarding _universe_. Deciding on the former of the two names, Fred stood clumsily and held his hand out to her. 

"Cecily," he said, slurring just a bit, "Cecily, would you care to dance with me?"

Oh, and she had the most wonderful voice, too, the way her words ran together ever so slightly was just magic. "Why, yes, Fred, I would just _love _to," she said, giggling slightly.

The two of them eventually found their way to the middle of the dance floor, where they began swaying and throwing their arms around in time to the music. Suddenly, Fred heard a piercing screech from across the room. 

"Ron Weasley! Didn't I tell you not to get drunk? How are you supposed to Apparate now?" Fred glanced across the room in time to see Ron feebly protesting in front of a pink-faced Hermione. Fred began to laugh, but hiccuped instead.

"Fred, won't you introduce me to your friend?"

Fred turned, getting a little off-balanced. "Mother! How splendid to see you!"

Mrs. Weasley took a short step back from her son, waving a hand under her nose. "Oh for Merlin's sake, Fred, how much _did_ you drink?" Fred looked deeply offended. "Oh, never mind." Glancing at the giggling Cecily, Mrs. Weasley gave Fred a soft shove towards the door. "Why don't you and your friend go outside for a little while, Fred? I think it'd do both of you some good."

Fred beamed at her. "Splendid, Mother! Jolly good idea!" Offering his arm to Cecily, he added, "Shall we go, my dear?" 

Cecily swayed a little but smiled and said, "Why, of course!"

Mrs. Weasley sighed as she watched the pair unsteadily make their way towards the door. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the party. 

*

Fred and Cecily wandered haphazardly down the empty Hogsmeade streets, laughing uproariously at their own silly jokes.

"Ok, ok, I've got another one." Fred paused for dramatic emphasis. "What did the—no, hold on, that's not how it goes…oh, right, here it is. Why did the _flobberworm_ cross the road?" He looked down at Cecily with a smug expression on his face.

"Hmm," Cecily stuck her tongue out of her mouth in her effort to think. She looked up at Fred. "A flobberworm, you say?"

Fred nodded solemnly. "Yes. A flobberworm."

Cecily went back to pondering the question. Finally, she looked up, a huge smile spread on her cheerful face. "No clue. Why?"

Fred beamed. "Because—because…" Fred dropped the finger he had been waving annoyingly around in the air. "Hmm. Can't seem to remember."

Cecily burst out into laughter. "Oh, that was a good one, Freg—oops, sorry, _Fred_." She smiled charmingly at him and punched him lightly on the arm. "Want to see me dance?"

Fred nodded wisely. "It would be the utmost pleasure."

Cecily straightened herself out, brushing invisible dust specks off of her robes. "Good. I thought it'd be." 

With a very serious face, she placed her arms in front of her, did a half-spin and tripped, falling into Fred's arms. Fred started laughing as Cecily succumbed to a fit of giggles.

Suddenly Fred stopped laughing. He stared into the dark blue eyes inches away from his own warm brown ones. He grinned. "Hey, baby," he said in a swaggering sort of voice. 

Cecily let out a short snigger. "Hey."

The alcoholic aromas drifting out of Cecily's mouth were too much for Fred. Leaning down slightly, he placed his lips on hers, locking her in a kiss. Releasing her suddenly, he stood up straight, still looking into her eyes. "Come back to my place?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Cecily smiled gently. "Of course."

Still smiling and giggling, they made their way back to the joke shop.

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	2. An Unwelcome Surprise

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A/N: Ok, just a few British terms here…

Pissed/hammered/smashed = drunk

Candy floss = cotton candy

stock-taking = inventory

I'm very sorry if I accidentally "Americanized" anything…I tried hard not to, but since I am American…I might have ;)

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Disclaimer: Oh, you know it all belongs to JKR. I barely even own the plot. Too bad.

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Hey Baby

Chapter 2:

An Unwelcome Surprise

"Oi, Fred? Are we out of the Exploding Candy Floss?"

Fred set aside his quill and reached under the counter, pulling out a set of keys. "Think there's more in the backroom. Here," he added, tossing the keys to George.

"Thanks," muttered George, failing to catch the keys. Stooping down, he picked them up off the floor while looking at his twin. "Katie and I are meeting for lunch this afternoon. You can come, if you like."

Fred chuckled, picking up his quill again and tracing his finger down the stock list. "I'm sure Katie'd really appreciate me joining you, George."

George shrugged, searching for the right key. "We're meeting other friends there. It's not a real exclusive type of thing."

Fred shook his head, starting in again on the stock list. "Well, thanks anyway, George, but I think I'll just stay here."

"See Fred, there's your problem," said George, walking into the back room. "You don't get _out_ enough. You're turning into a regular old hermit. You need to get out there, meet people, meet members of the opposite sex!" George's voice increased gradually as he spoke. Evidently he was in the far reaches of the room searching for the Exploding Candy Floss.

Fred groaned inwardly. "George," he said patiently, "I think that's about the last thing I need right now."

"Ah, yes," George's face reappeared, an evil grin on his face and a large box tucked under his arm. "I'd forgotten for a moment about your lovely young friend at the Three Broomsticks."

Fred gave him a Forget-the-wand-I'm-about-to-strangle-you-with-my-own-fingers sort of look.

George laughed, holding up one hand in mock resignation. "All right, all right! I'll shove it." 

Fred gave a soft smile. "Besides, it hasn't been _that_ long since Angelina and I stopped dating."

George shook his head seriously, trying to hide the grin on his face. "Oh, yes. Two years really isn't _that_ long." Chuckling, he glanced down at his watch. "Oh, bloody hell. I'm going to be late for meeting Katie." He tossed the Exploding Candy Floss onto the counter. "Ignore that. I'll get to it when I come back." He raised his wand to Apparate but paused. "Sure you don't want to come?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother.

Fred smiled. "Positive. Say hi to Katie for me."

He caught a glimpse of George's smile before he Apparated. "Sure thing."

Fred sighed. Why did George have to bring up Cecily? Fred wasn't exactly _proud_ of that night. He couldn't even remember what had happened. Well, he _could_ remember some things…the fact that he had asked Cecily to come home with him stuck out in his mind. Why did he always make an arse out of himself whenever he got hammered? He hadn't even had a chance to apologize to her. When he had waken the next morning, she was gone. As far as Fred knew, he could have dreamed up the whole thing, except his massive hangover the following day had seemed to disprove that theory.

He glanced over at the box of Exploding Candy Floss his brother had dumped onto the countertop. He'd take George's advice and ignore it. The stock-taking had to be done. George could deal with the Exploding Candy Floss later. Of all their inventions, it was Fred's least favorite. Perhaps this was because while placing them on display one time, a box had exploded in his hands. He had had candy floss stuck in his hair for a week.

He returned his attention to the stock sheet, a small smile playing on his face. The stock sheet just kept growing and growing. It seemed they were adding new products to the store every week. Of course, this was great, but it added a hell of a lot more work while doing the stock-taking.

His wandering quill stopped by an item. "Fake Wands…do we need more of those?" he muttered quietly. Snatching up the list, he headed into the back room.

His search for the Fake Wands had hardly begun when he heard the familiar sound of an annoyingly happy man telling a joke. "What do you get when you cross a hippogriff with a vampire?…"

Fred smiled to himself. It had been Charlie's idea to have a joke instead of a bell go off when someone entered the store. "It's a joke shop," he had said imperiously. "You don't have _bells_ in a joke shop." Fred was under the impression that Charlie had been pissed at the time. Still, Charlie got some of his best ideas when pissed.

"Be there in a second!" shouted Fred, abandoning his search for the wands. Grabbing his stock sheet, he headed for the front of the shop. 

"Can I help—" He stopped. He stood in the doorway leading to the back room, mouth slightly open. "_Cecily_?" he gasped.

Cecily stood just inside the shop, her hands nervously fiddling with a small handbag. "Er, hello, Fred," she said, attempting a smile.

Fred stood staring for several more seconds. Finally he snapped out of his daze. "Sorry, um…would you like to sit down? Let me grab a chair—"

"No," Cecily interrupted. "No, I'm fine. Thanks," she added awkwardly. 

"Oh. Right." Several more seconds of silence. "Er, listen, Cecily, I just wanted to say—well, I'm sorry about the way I acted last month when I—well, you know…"

Cecily raised a hand, pushing the hair back out of her face while at the same time fixing Fred with a rather unsteady gaze. "Don't apologize, Fred. I am responsible for that, uh…event, too. What we did—well, there are _consequences_, Fred. You can—well, if you're not careful, certain…_things_…can happen—do happen. And I'm afraid we weren't very careful, seeing as we were, well, bloody smashed, so…a girl has to make _choices_, Fred, you know that, right?" She peered inquisitively at him. "Do you understand what I'm trying to get at?" 

Fred hadn't understood a single word. Apart from the fact that what she had been saying sounded like a muddled goo of nonsense to him, he was very distracted by Cecily's hair. Not that it was in any way remarkable…but somehow it seemed different than what he remembered. Granted, he had been completely pissed at the time, but still, it looked more brown than he'd remembered. 

"Cecily," he said slowly, "I could be wrong, but is your hair darker than it was, um…the last time I saw you?"

Cecily blushed slightly. "Well—that is—yes, I suppose it is. I had to stop colouring it recently." She took a deep breath. "Fred, that's—well, that's kind of what I came to talk to you about."

"Right…" Fred scratched his head slowly. "Well, actually Cecily…I don't colour my hair. I think Ginny's experimented with that before, maybe you'd want to talk to her…" he looked up at Cecily hopefully.

Cecily breathed an exasperated sigh. "Fred, I did _not_ come to discuss hair dye with you." There was a heavy pause. "Fred," she continued. "What I've been trying to say is…I'm—I'm pregnant."

Silence.

"Oh," said Fred, cautiously. Somehow, it didn't sink in. "I—I see." He looked puzzled. "What does that have to do with colouring your hair?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Fred, is it really important? You're not supposed to dye your hair when you're pregnant…it's bad for the baby."

Another pause. "B—baby?" stuttered Fred.

"Yes, Fred." It sounded as if Cecily were trying and failing to control her temper. "That's what happens when you get pregnant. There's a _baby_."

__

Baby. The word hit Fred like a sack of dungbombs. _Baby_. Cecily was pregnant. _Baby_. She was telling him. _Baby_. Why was she telling him? _Baby_. Cecily was having his—

"Oh," whispered Fred, leaning against the counter. "You're having a baby."

Cecily rolled her eyes. "Catching on, are we?"

Fred raised his eyes to meet hers. There was an anxious look on his face. "Cecily…who's the father?"

Cecily stared at him. "Fred, why do you think I came to tell _you_? Just for the hell of it?" She quickly walked over and placed her hands on his cheeks. "Fred," she said quietly, patiently. "I'm having a baby. _Your _baby. _You_ are going to be a father." She released his face and stood back, staring at him with her dark blue eyes.

Fred still looked slightly dazed. "I—I'm going to be a father?" he stuttered.

Cecily sighed and began massaging her temples. "You know, Fred, there are only so many ways I can explain this to you…"

"No—no," Fred interrupted. "I…I _get_ it. I just don't…_get _it." He looked at her hopefully. "Did that make sense?"

She gave a weak smile. "Not much." Sighing, she added. "Listen, why don't you grab me that chair? This could take a while."

*

"Fred! Fred? Hey, brought you back some food!" George took off his cloak and threw it over the countertop. "Katie says hi. Her sister's getting married, did you know that? Well, probably not, you would've told me. Anyway, some guy from Italy, a Muggle actually, and—" George had walked into the back room, carrying the food in his hand. "Fred? What is it?" His face paled visibly. "No one's…hurt, right?"

Fred sat in an old rickety chair, surrounded by boxes and boxes of their inventions. His hand rested on the dirty work table, and there was a dazed expression on his face. He looked up very, very slowly. "No. No one's hurt."

George let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. "Had me worried there for a second." He set down the food on the work table. "So, what's wrong? Come on, Fred, you can't hide it from me."

Fred remained silent for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table. Finally, he said, "I got a little visit from Cecily while you were gone."

George furrowed his eyebrows. "Cecily…Cecily…oh, she's the one you—uh, right, I remember her," he finished after a venomous look from Fred.

"Yes," said Fred quietly. "What a bloody prat I've been."

"Fred?" George looked slightly alarmed. "Why'd she come here?"

Fred looked his twin straight in the eye for several moments before speaking again. "She's pregnant, George. That means she's having a baby. A _baby_. Guess who the father is?."

George stared him. "You—you—"

"Yes, do that for about an hour and you'll be where I am."

George shook his head quickly. "Sorry, Fred, I just—well, what are you going to do?"

Fred sighed, leaning forward. "We talked about that, Cecily and me. We agreed that we should both take responsibility. She doesn't want me to be an absent father figure. Which, you know, I don't want to be," he added quickly. "But it's just…George, I'm in way over my head."

George started slowly pacing the room. "Have you told Mum? Maybe she can help?"

A look of horror crossed Fred's face. "Merlin's beard, no! She'd use an Unforgivable on me!"

George shook his head. "You're going to have to tell the rest of the family sometime, Fred."

Fred took a deep breath. "Yes. I know. But not—not yet."

George stopped pacing. "So…are you and Cecily going to…you're not getting married or anything, right?"

"No, no," Fred shook his head vigorously. "Definitely not. But we're going to go through the pregnancy together…I'm meeting her for supper next week, we're going to talk more then." He ran his hand through his hair. "While we were talking, she suddenly jumped up, ran over to the sink and threw up. I asked her if she were sick or something, and she said 'For Merlin's sake, Fred, I'm _pregnant_'. She wants me to go to St. Mungo's with her…says I should 'know what's going on'." He looked up at his twin. "George, I don't know a _thing_ about this. How'm I going to do this?"

George shook his head. "Fred…my guess is that Cecily doesn't know a thing about it either. Well, maybe more than you," he grinned briefly at his brother, "but I'll bet all our Canary Creams she's just as scared." He sighed heavily. "You're doing the right thing, you know…it won't be easy, but it's right." He smiled at Fred. "And I'm here for you all the way, you know that. No matter what curse Mum pulls on you."

Fred smiled weakly. "Thanks, George."

***


	3. Group Reaction

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A/N: Eek! Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. I wanted to finish "Journey to Reality" first…and I did, so now I can just concentrate on this one ;)

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Disclaimer: All characters, except for Cecily, belong to JKR. Grow Your Own Warts kits belong to JKR. Non- explodable luminous balloons belongs to JKR. St. Mungo's belongs to JKR. The Burrow belongs to JKR. You get the point. 

*** 

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Hey Baby

Chapter 3:

Group Reaction

Fred shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He'd always hated hospitals. It was a bit of a phobia with him. When he had been three years old, Charlie had had an interesting accident during the Christmas holidays involving a Grow Your Own Warts kit and one of Bill's non-explodable luminous balloons. The very pregnant Mrs. Weasley had rushed the rapidly expanding Charlie to St. Mungo's, with toddlers Fred, George, and Ron in tow. The experience stuck with Fred his whole life. 

Of course, _then_ Charlie had been the one in trouble, and not Fred.

St. Mungo's hadn't changed much since Fred's last visit. The walls were still painted blinding white, plants were still stuck in corners, and soothing paintings of forests with the wind rustling the trees still hung on the walls. Even the _Witch Weekly's_ were the same.

"Fred?"

Fred jumped in his seat. Looking up, he saw Cecily standing before him.

"Oh! Hi," he said, clumsily rising to his feet. 

Cecily tossed her dark hair behind her shoulders. It seemed only yesterday her hair had been that shining coppery color. "I'm glad you could make it," she said, avoiding Fred's eyes. "A nurse already showed me the room. Follow me?" Fred nodded his consent, following Cecily down a hallway to the left of the waiting room. His eyes wandered over her stomach. Was he imagining it, or was there a small bump there?

Fred followed Cecily into a small room, where a painting of a toddler, currently giggling, hung on the wall. Fred was a little disconcerted to find someone else was in the room as well.

"Hello," said the new woman with a smile. "My name is Madam Dunstan. You must be Mr. Weasley. Miss Midgen has told me a little about you." She laughed at the panicked look on Fred's face. "Don't worry, nothing bad. I am glad you could join us today."

"Oh. Right," muttered Fred, plopping down into a chair.

Madam Dunstan turned to Cecily. "Now, dear," she said, smiling, "I need you to drink this. It makes the spell I'm going to perform go a whole lot smoother." She handed Cecily a paper cup, filled with pink liquid. "I'm just going to grab some paperwork, then I'll be back." She hurried out the door and closed it behind her.

Cecily sipped tentatively on the potion. "Yuck," she said, pulling a face, "tastes horrid." 

Fred was sure he was meant to say something to this, but for the life of him he couldn't think of anything. 

The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Fred spoke. "So, Cecily…have you told your family about, ah…_this_, yet?"

"I've told my sister, yes."

Fred looked up hopefully. "You haven't told your parents yet?"

Cecily's dark blue eyes clouded over slightly. "My parents were Aurors. They were killed several years ago."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"Thanks…you've told your family, haven't you?" Cecily asked.

Fred sank down a little in his chair. "Well, George knows…"

Cecily's eyes flashed. "What about the rest of your family? I _know_ they're still alive."

Fred avoided her gaze. "Well, I…that is to say—"

"Well now!" Madam Dunstan burst into the room, still beaming. "Drink all that up, did we? Good." She didn't catch the grateful look Fred shot her. "All right then," she said, rolling up her sleeves. "Cecily, this shouldn't hurt a bit. If it does, let me know, ok? You'll just feel a small tugging sensation around your stomach area, all right?"

Fred shifted nervously. "Um…should I leave, or something?"

Madam Dunstan looked at him benevolently. "Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, you will not be seeing anything 'gross' this visit. You stay right there." Turning her attention back to Cecily, she muttered. "All right? Here we go." Pointing her wand at Cecily's abdomen, she whispered, "_Me Praebeo_." 

Cecily gave a small gasp of surprise, and Fred nearly fell out of his chair. Floating about two inches above Cecily's stomach was a blue, almost transparent shape, oblong and about the size of a watermelon.

Madam Dunstan's face lit up in a grin. "Well, there it is! I've enlarged it, of course, so we can look at it better. It's really just about the size of a bean now." 

Cecily stammered. "That's—that's—"

"Your baby, yes." Madam Dunstan nodded. "Well, technically it's a fetus right now, but—"

Fred paled visibly and jumped forward in his chair. "A _fetus_? Merlin's beard, what is _that_? Is it serious? What did we do _wrong_?"

The two women turned and stared at him, Cecily's mouth hanging slightly open. "I think," Madam Dunstan said slowly, "I will find you something to read on pregnancy before you leave today." She turned back to Cecily, the smile returning to her face. "Now, dear, let me show you this…"

*

"George? Where are you? I'm back." Fred glanced around the empty joke shop, looking for signs of his brother.

George emerged from the stairs, drying his hair off with a worn looking towel. "It's about time. Sure took a while, didn't it? How'd it go?"

Fred frowned. "Ok. I guess. I'm not really sure. We have a…a…" he quickly pulled out a large book and leafed through it. "A fetus," he finished. "We have a fetus."

A disgusted look crossed George's face. "A whatus?"

Fred tossed the book down with a sigh. "Oh, some technical term. Saw the baby."

George's eyes lit up and a smile spread on his face. "You did? What did it look like? Is it a boy?"

Fred scratched his back. "Well, actually it kind of looked like a potato. A miniature potato. With weird…flipper things. Madam Dunstan, she's the midwife, she said it's the size of a bean."

George's face fell. "Oh." His face lit up again with a devilish grin. "So it resembles you, then?"

Fred failed to conceal the grin on his face. "Funny. Very funny." He leaned against the counter. "You know, George, it's odd. I was sitting there, looking at that thing, while Madam Dunstan and Cecily were talking about who knows what, and I was thinking…_that's my baby_. Even though it's just this blob, right now at least, it's a part of me! Well, maybe not so much a part of me as a part of Cecily, but—"

"What are on about, Fred? It's just as much you as it is her! Half you, half her." George held out his hands to demonstrate. "See? Half you, and half her. And then the two halves come together…" He clapped his hands together. "And make little baby blob." He gave another impish grin. 

Fred rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the demonstration."

George chuckled. "Any time." He glanced up at his twin. "Hey, Fred…when are you planning on telling the rest of the family?"

Fred winced slightly. "Ah, yes. About that. Cecily nearly asked me. I swear she was going to kill me, but Madam Dunstan walked in the room."

George tried and failed to look nonchalant. "Yes, well…next week's Halloween, you know. And we told Mum we'd go over to the Burrow for dinner. Whole family's gonna be there." He met Fred's eyes. "It'll be a good time."

Fred sighed. "You're probably right." He grabbed a butterbeer from behind the counter. "I'll do it Halloween, then. It won't be easy, but I'll do it." He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "You think I should practice up on my curse deflecting charms?"

*

Fred appeared in the backyard of the Burrow on Halloween night and quickly stepped aside, waiting for his brother to Apparate. Several seconds later George appeared in the exact same spot Fred had been. 

"Well, that worked nicely." George smiled.

"Yeah." Fred looked up at the house. "What time were we supposed to be here?"

George shrugged. "Not sure. Half hour ago?"

Fred nodded. "Oh, good. Hate to be the first ones to arrive."

Fred started walking towards the house, but George held him back. "Fred…remember what you said? You're going to do it, right?"

Fred shook of his brother. "Yes, yes, I will. I just have to find the right time." And with that, he strolled into the house.

An explosion of noise accompanied his arrival as his various family members shouted out greetings. Fred smiled and was about to respond when he felt himself roughly grabbed by the shoulder. 

"Merlin's beard, it certainly took you two long enough to arrive." Fred glanced over his shoulder and saw his mother had a grip on both his and George's shoulders. "Sit down now, we've been waiting, and your food's getting cold." She firmly directed the twins into their chairs and took a seat herself. "There, now. That's better."

Mr. Weasley chuckled as he passed George the pumpkin juice. "Little busy over at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes tonight?"

George shrugged. "Not really. Just running a little late."

Percy made a small snorting noise as he passed the peas to Ron. "A _little_ late? I was about to Apparate and see where you two were!"

Charlie hid a laugh. "Ah, come on now, Perce, you wouldn't have gotten far with that wooden leg, anyway. Just joking, of course," he added after receiving a venomous look from his mother.

Throughout the course of the meal, George kept throwing Fred meaningful looks. Fred pretended not to notice and instead interested himself with the potatoes on his plate.

Just as the family was finishing up Mrs. Weasley's homemade vanilla ice cream, Percy cleared his throat. "I have an announcement to make."

"You're going to be Minister of Magic?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"They're going to reattach your leg!" squealed Ginny.

"They're promoting you to Supreme Ruler of the Universe," muttered Ron.

"If I may," said Percy pompously. The family fell silent. "Thank you." Percy drew a deep breath. "I asked Penny to marry me. And she accepted."

The silence barely lasted two seconds before Mrs. Weasley let out a shriek of delight. "Oh, Percy, that's _wonderful_! Oh, when did you ask her? _How_ did you ask her? You _are_ going to let me help plan the wedding, aren't you? And of course you'll let your brothers be the groomsmen, has Penny told her family yet?"

Amid Mrs. Weasley's excited comments, George punched Fred under the table and whispered, "Come with me for a minute." Fred nodded and the two of them rose from the table and entered the living room.

"What?" asked Fred tensely.

"_Well_?" said George. "When are you going to get on with it."

Fred shifted nervously. "Well, you know, I've been thinking, and—"

"Fred, you _have_ to."

"I can't follow that! After Mum's all excited about Percy and Penelope, it's going to make me look even _worse_!"

George stared at his twin for a moment. Finally, he grabbed his arm firmly and pulled him forward. "Come on. You're doing this now."

Fred panicked. "_What_? No, I can't, I—"

George marched into the kitchen. "Oi, you guys! Fred has an announcement, too." 

Fred muttered under his breath, "_I hate you_!"

George muttered back, "You'll thank me later."

Mr. Weasley turned towards the twins. "Oh? What's that, Fred?" 

Fred wilted under his mother's gaze. "I, uh…that is…"

Bill snickered. "Merlin's beard, Fred, what'd you do, _murder_ someone?"

Mrs. Weasley shot a glare at Bill. "That's not funny, Bill." She returned her attention to Fred, a small smile on her lips. "What is it, dear?"

Drops of perspiration shone on Fred's forehead. "Well, you see, I—I—I sort of…"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, Forge."

Fred swallowed hard. "I'm—having a baby."

Silence enveloped the room. Ron leaned back in his chair and said, "So, you got the sex change when?…"

Fred shot Ron an angry look. "You know what I mean. I…well, I—"

"He got a girl pregnant," George put in.

Fred turned slowly on his twin. "Thank you," he said in a tight voice.

George smiled. "Anytime."

Mrs. Weasley was immediately on her feet. Her rage seemed to go beyond words. "You _what_?"

Bill and Charlie found the whole situation highly amusing. "All right, way to go Fred!"

"Shove it, Bill," hissed Ginny.

"What's she like, Fred? Real knock out?"

"No! I mean, I—"

"Had some beer goggles on, huh?"

"What? No, I just—"

"Spreadin' the ol' Weasley seed, eh?"

Mrs. Weasley rounded on her two eldest sons. "You two are _not_ helping!" she hissed shrilly. Bill's and Charlie's mouths snapped shut immediately. Mrs. Weasley slowly turned back to Fred. She stared at him for a moment in complete silence. Fred was beginning to think the news had gone over well.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" screamed Mrs. Weasley. Fred nearly fell backwards from the amount of energy radiating from her. "DID WE TEACH YOU NOTHING? DO YOU HAVE _NO_ MORAL VALUES? WHO _IS_ THIS GIRL?"

Fred shrank back from his mother. "Now, Mum, let's be reasonable here—"

"_REASONABLE_? HOW _DARE_ YOU ASK ME TO BE REASONABLE? You come home and tell me you've gotten some—some scarlet woman PREGNANT, and you expect me to be REASONABLE?"

Fred flushed. "Mum, she's not a _scarlet woman_, she's—"

Percy nodded behind his mother's back. "Yes, I must say, Fred, it really was quite irresponsible of you—"

"You keep quiet, Percy!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Now, Molly," said Mr. Weasley hesitantly, "let's hear the boy out." He nodded warily at his son. "Go on, Fred."

Fred shook his head. "All…all right, then." He wrung his hands together. "You know Cecily Midgen, don't you?"

Ron's eyes widened. "_Midgen_?"

Charlie started laughing. "Merlin's beard, you knocked up a Midgen—"

"Charlie! Just because I'm your mother doesn't mean I won't put a Full Body Bind on you!" Her attention snapped back to Fred. "Continue."

Fred swallowed hard. "Well, um…remember at our party? That girl? We were both a little, uh, tipsy shall we say, and, well one thing lead to another, and…I've been working on my curse deflecting charms, so don't hurt me!" he blurted out.

Mrs. Weasley continued to stare. "Cecily Midgen," she muttered. "That girl with you at the party? The one you were dancing with?"

Fred nodded slowly, cringing, but suddenly his eyes grew wide. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, the one I was dancing with. The one _you_ told me to go outside with. So really, Mum, this is _your_ fault! You told us to go outside, you told us to _leave_ the party. _You_'re the one really to blame. I wash my hands of you." He glanced at his mother to see how well this new addition had gone over.

"WHY YOU—"

"Molly, dear." Fred looked at his father. His face looked strained, but at least he wasn't shrieking. He looked at Fred. "Now, Fred," he started, "if I remember correctly, I taught you certain, ah…_charms_ when you were younger. Charms that could, well…you know…" The tips of his ears turned bright red.

"Dad, he was bloody smashed," muttered George.

"George!" hissed Ginny.

Silence filled the room. Fred could feel the eyes of all his family members boring into his skull.

"So," Mrs. Weasley finally said in a terse voice. "That's it then. What are you going to do about it?"

"Well, I uh—Cecily and I worked it out and everything, I'm going to help her during the pregnancy, and after of course…and we've been talking, and I went to St. Mungo's with her and everything, and you know how I hate St. Mungo's…"

After a long pause, Mrs. Weasley said, "So you _are_ taking responsibility for your _careless_ behavior?"

"She acts like Fred impregnated himself," Ron muttered under his breath.

Fred gulped but nodded his head firmly. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Mrs. Weasley slowly sat back down in her chair with a firm nod. "Good. Now, you know I don't approve of this _at_ all…but as long as it's happening…well, just know that I expect to meet the mother of my grandchild."

*

Shortly afterwards Fred and George Apparated back to the joke shop. Fred shakily leaned against the counter. "She didn't kill me," he muttered.

George shook his head. "Went better than expected. But still, she wasn't exactly happy about it."

Fred shot his brother a glare. "Well, if you had let _me_ take my time about it instead of pushing me in—"

"You never would've done it."

"Yes I would have!"

"Oh, Merlin's beard, Fred, I'm your _twin_, I know you wouldn't have!"

Fred shrugged. "Well…eventually I would have."

George laughed. "Yeah. When the kid was starting Hogwarts." He frowned at the look on Fred's face. "What's up?"

Fred looked astonished. "Hogwarts. _I'll_ have a kid at Hogwarts."

George chuckled. "Not for a while, you won't." He was silent for a moment. "Did you see the look on Dad's face?" he asked. "When you first said Cecily was having the baby?"

Fred shook his head. "No, I was concentrating more on Mum's wand." He winced slightly. "Did he look _too_ disappointed?"

George shook his head. "That's the funny thing. I was watching him, and he almost looked _excited_. Then of course he saw Mum's reaction and he tried to look all serious." He laughed. "Typical Dad behavior. Fred, he's looking forward to this baby!"

Fred smiled. "Well, it's good to have one of them on my side. Dad as a granddad…can you picture it?"

George flashed a matching grin. "Yeah. It'll be great." 

***


	4. Names, Arguments, and Invitations

****

A/N: Er…sorry? Really, I do truly apologize for the incredibly long stretch between chapters. I got…sidetracked? I dunno, it wasn't happening. But here it is :) Finally. Sorry again.

Major, major thanks to Rose Rovente for beta-reading, and getting my lazy rear in gear on this ;)

****

Disclaimer: *sing song voice* It's all JKRrrrrrs! 

*** 

****

Hey Baby

Chapter 4:

Names, Arguments, and Invitations

"What about…Nicholas?"

"No. That doesn't sound good at all."

"Ok, all right…what about Henry?"

"Maybe. That could work."

Fred smiled slightly. _Finally_. They were getting somewhere.

"No. Wait. I don't think I like it."

Fred sighed. He and Cecily had been sitting in the backroom for over an hour now, attempting to think of some names for the baby. Cecily wanted a boy's name and a girl's name all picked out for the baby when it arrived. They hadn't even started thinking of girl's names yet.

Cecily rubbed her stomach absently. "How about…Charles?"

"No good. That's my brother's name," said Fred, shaking his head.

"So?"

"Well…what if my mum gets mad at Charlie, and she yells at him, but then the kid would think Mum was yelling at _him_. We don't want him to have an identity crisis before he can even talk, for Merlin's sake."

Cecily laughed slightly. "All right, all right, I get the point."

Fred returned her smile. Things were getting easier between them now. There weren't as many awkward pauses, tense smiles, false laughs. Slowly, a friendship was developing. Fred was extremely grateful for that fact. As George had said, "It'll be easier for the kid, not having his parents at each other's throats."

"I know!" Cecily burst out, interrupting Fred's thoughts. "Gonzalo! It's perfect!" She was all smiles.

Fred looked horrified. "_Gonzalo_? What kind of a name is _that_?"

Cecily's deep blue eyes darkened immediately. "That was my father's name, Fred. And if you have a problem with it—"

"Problem? Oh, no, no. Gonzalo. It's a fine name." He smiled to reassure her. Cecily's eyes lightened and she smiled back. Fred heaved an internal sigh. Cecily had gotten so _moody_ recently. One minute she'd be laughing, the next in tears. He certainly didn't understand it. Bill said he heard all expectant mothers did this, for a while at least. A phase, he had called it. All Fred knew was that he would be glad when this little phase was over. If it kept Cecily from bursting into tears, he'd let her call the baby Gonzalo. At least until this "phase" was over. Then he'd argue.

"Well. Boy's names are decided then. On to girls?"

Fred glanced at his watch. "Actually, I should probably be getting back to the store. Lunch break was over fifteen minutes ago. George'll have my hide."

Cecily nodded understandingly. "Right. Another time then." She got up with a small grunt and headed towards the door.

Fred swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Uh—Cecily?"

Cecily turned. "Yes?"

"Well, uh—you see—well, my mother…that is, she sort of wanted to meet you. The whole family does, actually, so, uh—I was thinking, if you'd like to, you could come over for Christmas dinner. Mum always makes too much food, so…"

Cecily smiled. "That's very kind of you, Fred, and I do want to meet your family. But I was planning on spending Christmas with my sister."

"Oh! Well, of course Eloise can come, too, if she wants." Fred looked at her hopefully. "So what'll it be?"

Cecily seemed to consider the offer. "I'll talk to Eloise about it. It really is kind of you, Fred. Thank you."

He shrugged. "Sure. No problem."

Fred sighed as she walked out the backdoor. Well, he could check that off his things-to-do list. Picking up his cup of tea, he headed back to the front of the shop.

"Where _have_ you been?" A very angry George stood in front of him.

"Now, George, we were—"

"You were supposed to be out here _thirty_ minutes ago, Fred! I told Katie I'd meet her for lunch, and—"

"I'm _sorry_, George, it took longer than I expected."

George sighed heavily. "It's all right, I guess. You guys finally decide on some names?"

"A boy's name."

"Not a girl's? Merlin's beard, what were you _doing_ back there? Never mind, I don't want to know. What's the boy's name?"

Fred pulled a face. "Gonzalo."

George attempted to look serious but broke out laughing. "Gonzalo? How'd you come up with that?"

"It was her father's name, I guess. I'm gonna try to talk her out of it later."

"Good." George raised an eyebrow. "What name did you want?"

Fred averted his eyes. "Lee," he said quietly.

There was a pause. "Yeah," said George finally. "That would be good." After another moment of silence, he added, "I'm already late for meeting Katie. I'm off. And I'll be back thirty minutes later. It's payback time." With a quick grin, he Disapparated out of the store.

*

It was getting dark. Fred looked up at the shop clock. The store was supposed to close soon. And George still wasn't back. Fred glanced swiftly at the Floo powder above the fireplace. What he wouldn't give to be able to quickly run to the Burrow and look at the grand father clock. Where would George's hand be?

He said he was going to be back thirty minutes late. "Thirty minutes late my arse," muttered Fred, grabbing a rag and wiping the counter down. "Where in bloody hell _is_ he?"

"Finally!" he shouted as he heard the bell ring. "What do you think you were doing? Leaving me here and—oh…hey, Percy."

It was quite a rare occasion for Percy to come in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He simply didn't approve of it. But tonight…Percy hadn't spoken to Fred since he had broken the news at Halloween. Yet here he was, standing awkwardly in the room, leaning against his wooden leg.

Percy nodded stiffly. "Hello, Fred. Shouldn't you be closing up soon?"

Fred stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "Normally, yes. Did you come here just to tell me that?"

Percy looked slightly offended. "Of course not." He glanced around the store. "Where's George?"

Tensing slightly, Fred said, "I'm not sure."

"Hmm," Percy said with a hurried glance at the clock. "I see…you two have an argument?"

"No. If we did, I don't see how it's your concern."

Percy ears turned slightly pink. "Just a question, Fred. No need to get jumpy."

The two of them stood in silence. Neither one seemed too keen to start the conversation again.

"Well, Perce," started Fred, "if you don't have anything else to say, I should really be closing up, so—"

"No, I—well, I do have something to ask you."

"Well? Spit it out, then."

"Calm down, Fred, calm down." Percy took a deep breath. "Now, as you know, Fred, Penelope and I are getting married, and I was wondering if…well, if you wouldn't mind…if you—"

"Merlin's beard, Percy, if you don't want me to go to the wedding, just _say_ it!"

Percy looked shocked. "What?" 

Fred knew he had done something wrong, or maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all, but it was too late to go back now. "Look, Percy, I _know_ you're upset about Cecily and the baby and everything, and if you don't want me to go to the wedding, fine. You'll probably have Ministry bigwigs there, and it's perfectly understandable if you don't want the 'family embarrassment' there. Of course, why would you—"

"Fred!" Percy looked appalled. "Do you actually believe the—the _junk_ that's coming out of your mouth?"

Fred really began to feel uncomfortable now, but simply shrugged and said, "Sure. I mean, when we were at Hogwarts you were always embarrassed of George's and mine's jokes. And this—well, this is bigger than a harmless prank, Percy."

Percy snorted. "I wouldn't call all of your pranks _harmless_, Fred."

"That's not the point. I mean, you were _always_ looking down on us, and—"

"Fred, I came to ask if you would be a groomsman in my wedding." 

Fred stopped mid-sentence. "Huh?" he asked lamely.

"Well, I've already asked Bill, and Charlie," Percy was counting them off on his fingers, "And George, and Ron, and they all said yes. And Ginny's going to be one of Penny's bridesmaids. And so now I'm asking you. I know I probably should have gotten round to it sooner, but…"

Fred racked his brain for some intelligent response to this. "You want me to be _in_ your wedding? I mean…even after…"

"Well, of course. You're my brother. I wouldn't…_disown_ you or anything just because…well, you know."

"Right. Of course." Fred now felt decidedly foolish.

"So…do you _want_ to be in the wedding?"

"Oh! Sure. I mean, of course! It'll be great." He gave a wry smile. "Thanks, Perce."

"Of course." Percy turned to head towards the door. "By the way, Fred…when do we get to meet this girl…Cecily, was it?"

This time Fred gave a true smile. "Christmas. I'm bringing her over."

Percy nodded. "Good, good. Well, then, I'll be off, I—oomph!" Percy was slightly winded as George Apparated into the room, practically knocking him over.

"Percy! What are you doing here?"

"_George_? Where have you been?"

Still bending over slightly, Percy waved in the general direction of his brothers. "That's it. I'm off."

Fred stared in silence at George until Percy was out the door. "Half an hour late?" he said coolly.

George grinned mischievously. "We went over a little. Was sure you wouldn't mind. Katie scored a pair of seats to a Quidditch match, Falmouth Falcons versus the Wasps. What a game! You should've been there, Fred, we—"

"You went to a _Quidditch_ match?"

George held up his hands defensively. "Now, Fred, I knew you'd be a little peeved that you didn't get to go, but—"

"_Peeved_? Merlin's beard, George, I was bloody _scared_! I had no idea where in the bloody hell you were! You could've owled, or something at least! You're _four hours late_. How was I supposed to know what happened? I mean, for all I knew you could've been lying in a _ditch _somewhere with a Dark Mark hanging over you!"

The room seemed to grow instantly still. George stared at Fred during the shocked silence. Fred averted his eyes.

"Fred," George started timidly, "He's gone. They're gone. You know that. They're—they're all gone, and…" he trailed off.

Fred shook his head. "I know. I know. Sorry. It's just…well, old habits die hard, I suppose."

"Yeah." There was another heavy pause. "Look, Fred, I'm—I'm sorry. I should've owled. Next time I will. I never…well, I didn't mean to scare you." He looked up hopefully. "Forgiven?"

Fred smiled reluctantly. "Forgotten."

George returned the smile. "Good." A mischievous light entered his eyes. "You know, you really are starting to sound more and more like Mum."

"Oi!" Fred shouted, trying to hide a smile. "Take that back!" He picked up a box of fake wands and started to throw them at George. They each emitted a squeak and turned into mice as they hit him.

"Hey!" George said, trying to shield off the incoming rubber mice. Picking up a box of canary creams, he started throwing those at his brother. "Take that! I'll teach you to mess with George Weasley!"

George collapsed into a laughing heap as one of the canary creams hit Fred's mouth and he turned into a bright yellow bird. "Classic," he said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Wish we had that on camera."

"Oh, that would be great," said Fred, molting back. "Just great." 

***


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